Did Memorial Day weekend throw you off enough that you missed some of the bigger entertainment stories this week? Well, don’t fret, because it’s time to take a look at the Best Stories of the Week.

This week we’ve got updates on Gambit with Channing Tatum, Marvel’s developing Doctor Strange, an interview with Pete Docter about Pixar’s Inside Out, a new director for Jonny Quest, trailers for The End of the Tour and the remake of Point Break, and much more. Hit the jump to get caught up on a week’s worth of the biggest stories.

Update: The news of Disney shutting down Tron 3 broke after this roundup was published, but definitely factors into the big news of the week. We’ve added that below.

Add another name to your list of new Star Wars characters. An interview on StarWars.com has revealed that Andy Serkis is playing a character named Supreme Leader Snoke, and the character is being created through performance capture.

See the image and learn more about the Andy Serkis Star Wars character below. Read More »

Most of the Avengers: Age of Ultron marketing has, quite reasonably, focused on the franchise’s marquee superheroes: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the like. But as the superpowered sequel nears release, Marvel Studios has released a batch of images that put some of the supporting players in the spotlight.

That includes Rhodey (Don Cheadle), Baron Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann), Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), and Ulysses Klaw (Andy Serkis). Though the big names get some love too. After the jump, flip through the latest Avengers Age of Ultron images. Plus, check out another Avengers Age of Ultron clip and featurette.

Next week, the second trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be revealed. You can read more about that here. It’ll then be in theaters with Avengers: Age of Ultron. But what, specifically, will the trailer feature? MakingStarWars has a very intriguing list of images they believe are going to appear in the trailer. If it’s true, this is going to be insane. Read the Force Awakens trailer 2 details below.

We have a few questions: like who is the guy with the metal claw device and who is in that big mac truck that Captain America and Ultron are battling on top of? Hit the jump to read the Avengers Age of Ultron trailer analysis now.

Want to see a new image from behind the scenes of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Has Andy Serkis‘ Avengers: Age of Ultron identity been revealed? Which movies did the producers of The Flash compare their time travel episode too? Did Jeff Bridges want to come back after Iron Man? What did the showrunner of Daredevil have to say about the new trailer? Why did Ryan Reynolds hint that Green Lantern didn’t work? Who does Superman hang out with in a new edition of his comic book? Read about all this and more in today’s Superhero Bits. Read More »

As happy as we were to see Andy Serkis in the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer — because more Andy Serkis is always a good thing — we couldn’t quite figure out what he was doing there. The actor revealed his involvement in the film last year, but declined to say which character he’d be playing.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped rumors from swirling. The latest one to gain traction suggests Avengers: Age of Ultron may be just the beginning for Serkis — if it’s true, he’ll have a much bigger role to play in Phase Three. Hit the jump for the Andy Serkis Avengers rumor. Read More »

I was watching Gone Girlfor the fourth time and admiring how David Fincher (and his cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth) majestically shot Ben Affleck‘s character Nick Dunne’s cat and I began to wonder about the cat’s true role in the story. The cat is featured too prominently to be just a background prop. What did the cat mean?

As I thought about this I began to realize that there had been a lot of big screen kitties this year. The New York Times notes in their review that “cats are the new dogs,” and judging from the list of animals in this article, they might be right. But as I started to think about it more, it wasn’t just cats but dogs and some actually amazing performances by other animals in this past year of film. So the list of best animal performances of 2014 grew and grew. After the jump you will find my examination of why 2014 was the year of animal movie performances and what it all means. Read More »

The Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer was filled with so many visual stimulants, it’s funny how the auditory one has become the most interesting point of conversation. After some debate, we found it was Andy Serkis delivering the clip’s chilling monologue. Not only was it chilling because of the voice itself; it was the words delivered. This character would have to be incredibly important to have felt a literal awakening in both sides of the Force. Rumors began running rampant about the character. Is Serkis a Sith? How old is he? Could he be more than one character? Will be play a performance-capture or human character?

Now the actor has answered a few of those questions. We still don’t know his name and exact purpose, but Serkis did confirm he’s only playing one character, and that it was his unaltered voice in the trailer. Read more about the Andy Serkis Star Wars rumors, and their answers, below. Read More »

Andy Serkis has been busy lately, running around with Avengers and exploring a certain galaxy far, far away. But it’ll be a while yet before he gets to tromp through the jungle. Warner Bros. has delayed Serkis’ Jungle Book: Origins by a full year, penciling it in for a new date in 2017. More on the Jungle Book Origins release date after the jump. Read More »